Program

The department of Plant and Food Sciences brings together scientists from within the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment who are interested in fundamental and applied research associated with broad acre and horticultural production systems. The Department is multidisciplinary and scientists are located across the Camperdown, Camden and Narrabri campuses. The Department provides the critical mass needed to address key issues facing agriculture today. Research is focused around the following themes:
Peri-urban and urban agriculture: food production in the high-rainfall zones close to large urban centers and within urban areas.
Crop adaptation: farming systems, cultivar suitability in variable environments, integrated pest management, mitigation of biotic & abiotic stresses, grain quality, and water management and water use efficiency.
Nutrition: the agronomic and genetic enhancement of plant, animal and human nutrition.
New technologies in agriculture: the development of new tools that cut across disciplinary areas.

Post-graduate training centered on these themes will equip scientists with the skills, knowledge and networks required to lead research. Major sponsors of CFS are the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the Pork CRC, the Australian Research Council and Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL).